The Board of Directors of the East Fremantle Football Club announced to the members on Friday May 30th that the Club will investigate the opportunity to co-tenant Fremantle Oval with the South Fremantle Football Club.

The business case will involve investigating a range of different options which may include staying at East Fremantle Oval or co-locating with the SFFC at Fremantle Oval. The advantages and disadvantages of these options along with the associated costs will be determined during the course of the business case.

The Club and SFFC have a proud history in the Fremantle community and this investigation recognizes the commitment of each Club to the greater Fremantle community and to Club members to assess whether co-tenancy is best for our long term future. This decision to create a business case is for the sustainability of both clubs as well as ensuring Fremantle Oval continues to be an important community hub.

The opportunity for co-tenancy at Fremantle Oval, presented by the announcement that Fremantle Dockers would move their headquarters to Cockburn, is an opportunity that the Club must explore.

The Club has been working with the Town of East Fremantle, Department of Sport and Recreation and West Australian Football Commission to secure our future at East Fremantle Oval but to this point have not been able to guarantee that our facility requirements can be met. As explained to our members at our 2013 AGM we must explore any opportunity that can provide for our facility requirements.

Fremantle Oval was our home from foundation in 1898 to the completion of the 1952 season, with the exception of 1906, when we played home games at East Fremantle Oval. The SFFC, apart from 1906, has played home games at Fremantle Oval since its foundation in 1900. Twenty one of the Club's twenty nine premierships were won whilst Fremantle Oval was the home of the Club.

The business case investigation recognizes the potential benefits of co-tenancy, including increased activity in the City of Fremantle, with the potential for a WAFL game being fixtured in Fremantle almost every week of the WAFL season, along with the capital and operational cost efficiencies associated by sharing facilities, access to the rail network and connectivity to Fremantle's hospitality and retail precinct.

The State Government, through the Department of Sport and Recreation, is helping facilitate the process of this investigation and the resultant business case. The City of Fremantle and West Australian Football Commission have also shown support for this enquiry and will be involved as key stakeholders.

We acknowledge the cooperation that will be required through this investigation and welcome the opportunity to work with SFFC through this process and acknowledge that the process will require the cooperation and goodwill of all stakeholders of Fremantle Oval.The business case will not only define the possibilities but will provide some indication of the support we can expect for any recommended options’.

It is anticipated the business case will be completed within 20 weeks from the date of appointing a consultant, with the report expected prior to the 2014 AGM.

The East Fremantle Football Club (EFFC) is recognising Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June) by holding the first meeting of its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) working group, launching its NAIDOC Guernsey Design Competition, and offering their 2013 NAIDOC Jumpers for sale to the public for the first time.

EFFC recognises the important role that community sports groups play in working towards reconciliation and, with guidance and assistance from Club sponsor Kart Koort Wiern, will begin developing their first RAP and will hold the first meeting of its RAP working group on May 29th. The Club will be engaging other members of the community, both indigenous and non-indigenous, to advise on the development of the RAP, including past players, their families, staff, volunteers, members and community groups. Anyone interested in being part of the process should contact the Club.

Ingrid Cumming, CEO of Kart Koort Wiern has plenty of experience in developing RAPs with clients and is donating her time and expertise to assist the Club with theirs. Ingrid said: “In my time with EFFC, I am assured that ??the EFFC is passionate to create and develop strong ties and ongoing commitments to not only the Noongar community but Yamatji and the many Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities around Australia. Through the RAP process, we will identify what sorts of opportunities for youth, women and men we can offer those who wish to pursue a career with the ?Football ?Club, ? in the spirit of closing the gap and reconciliation?. ?Kart Koort Wiern is very pleased with what we have achieved in collaboration with the Club so far and the continued successes we will have together ?within EFFC.”

The CEO of the EFFC, Adam Kelly will lead the RAP process. “The formal commencement of the Reconciliation Action Planning process at EFFC is an important event for the Club in our pursuit of an inclusive environment that acknowledges cultural difference and equips the Club to embrace diversity, in a manner that reflects its significance and importance. We look forward to the process, the enlightenment, challenging the way we have traditionally operated and closing of the gap between the Club and our indigenous community. We have been encouraged by the open and constructive conversations with Kart Koort Wiern which have led to the formation of the Working Group and thank Ingrid as a valued partner of the Club for her leadership toward reconciliation” he said.

The Club encourages members of the community who would like to have input into the process to contact the Club, as there will be a Community Advisory Group formed to ensure that the RAP outcomes are relevant to and inclusive of all parts of the Community.

Following on from the success of last year’s competition, the Sharks are again asking Primary School aged children from the East Fremantle District to send in their designs for the jumper to be worn by the team on July 5th- NAIDOC Round. Last year the competition was won by Daniel Wallington of Banksia Park Primary and Bullcreek Leeming JFC. Daniel led the team onto the ground at the NAIDOC game in his own NAIDOC jumper, was presented with a framed guernsey for his school at an assembly, and had a visit from Sharks players at his footy training.

Entries must be received by June 4th and the entry form is available from the Club or online

The jumpers worn in last year’s game are now available to purchase from the Club for $75. These are strictly limited and a list of available numbers is available from the Club. Where the player is still available, the purchaser may request that the original player signs the jumper.

East Fremantle plays Perth in the WAFL NAIDOC Round to be held on Saturday July 5th at East Fremantle Oval. Both teams will wear their NAIDOC guernsey at this game.

Primary School Students from the East Fremantle District once again have the opportunity to design the NAIDOC jumper that East Fremantle Football Club will wear in our NAIDOC round game vs Perth at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday July 5th. Entries must be received by the Club by June 4th. New Closing date: 11th June

To enter, download the entry form. The winner gets their own guernsey, plus a framed guernsey for their school and gets to be the mascot at the Sharks game on July 5th and lead the team onto the ground!

East Fremantle returned to the winners’ circle on Saturday, winning all three grades for the first time since round 5, against the Perth Demons at Lathlain Park on Saturday. In addition, all three Women's grades, including the East Fremantle Youth Girls team playing in their first game*, recorded wins against South Fremantle and SNESA.

Colts

The Colts started the day with a nail-biting 6 point win. With the game all tied up with less than a minute to go we received a free kick on the wing, one which a Perth player wasn’t happy with. As it turned out the 100m penalty was just what the doctor ordered to ensure victory for the Colts boys, especially after the loss against Swans the previous weeks.

The game was a tough slog early, with both sides struggling to handle the very slippery conditions, and it was Perth though that handled them better and they had soon skipped out to a 2 goal lead. From that point on it was an arm wrestle with both sides scoring three goals apiece in each of the second and third quarters, before our boys found some composure to play their best quarter for the day in kicking three goals and holding Perth scoreless. The win now puts the Colts in equal fourth position with a 4-4 record.

Oliver Parish, arguably the smallest player on the field, was outstanding throughout the game, often throwing his body to the bottom of packs and dropping back in the hole to finish with 25 possessions, 3 tackles, 6 I50’s and a goal. Jordan Snadden and Tom Bennett were also fantastic and Jacob Gittos bagged 5 goals to take his season tally to 14: 6th on the leading goal kickers tally. In another sign of the future Liam Rajanayagam (who turns 16 in July) showed excellent skills and composure in the backline.

East Fremantle 10.5 (65) def Perth 9.5 (59)

GOALS: 5 J.Gittos, 2 M.Sewell, T.Bennett, 1 O.Parish

BEST: O.Parish, J.Snadden, J.Gittos, T.Bennett, M.Sewell

Development

The Development League team continued on their merry way, convincingly defeating the Demon by 54 points, their fifth straight win that sees them sitting second on the ladder.

After a tight first quarter the boys turned up the heat on the Demons in second, kicking 4 goals to 2, then scorched them in the third, holding them scoreless while pouring on another 4 goals. With the game over by three quarter time, the last quarter became a bit of a shootout, with both sides kicking 4 goals.

Aidan Tropiano was outstanding through the midfield racking up 32 possessions even though he had to sit out 20 minutes in the third quarter after receiving a knock to the head. Tom Hooker continued to put up his hand after another hard running game. Richie Bourne responded the best possible way to being dropped back by looking lively and kicking 4 goals, as did Michael Edwards in kicking 2. Boston Williamson, close to selection in the League side on Thursday, also played well, racking up 22 possessions, 8 marks, 8 inside 50’s and a couple of goals.

League

The League side, in much need of a win, ensured Club favourite, Andrew Stephen, was able to celebrate his 100th game for the Sharks with a come-from-behind win, in a topsy-turvy game Saturday afternoon. Tim Bristow came in to the side for his debut, hoping that the energy he has brought to the Club since arriving from Launceston would rub off on everyone else, but it was the Demons who got off to a fast start, with Mitch Morton dominating early. The Sharks were under the pump and by midway through the first quarter found themselves down by four goals. But our boys fought back, kicking the last three to trail by just 4 points at the first break. The second was almost a mirror image of the first, with Perth getting the jump but again our boys showed some grit to kick the last couple and head in to the half time break 3 points in front. From that point on it was an arm wrestle, with both sides at various times looking as though they could break the game open. At three quarter time Stephen Malaxos and Jamie McNamara pleaded for one huge last quarter effort, not only for “Stevo” but for all the hard work that had gone into the week leading in. The boys responded accordingly. With the Sharks behind with less than 10 minutes to go, the boys dug deep, kicking a couple of goals to secure a 9 point win, one that certainly keeps us on the tails of the top four.

All grades can now enjoy a well-deserved break with the State game bye this weekend, before heading into the WA Day Derby against South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval on June 2nd.